Fire-extinguisher.



n 837,678. PATENTED 1330.4. 1906. c, A. FOX &, F. L. WEBB, J3.

FIRE BXTINGUISHER.

nruouxon FILED NOV. as. 1905.

WITNESSES CZWM f!!! NORRIS PsrsR: 1:0,. WASHINGTON, nc;

PATENTED DEC. 4, 1906.

C. A. P0X ,6 P- L. WEBB, J3.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER. AYPLIOA'HON FILED HOV as 1905 2 SEBETSSHBBT 2.

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EcQ/MM (/7 T T DRIVER UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. FOX AND FREDERICK L. WVEBB, J 1%., OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHETR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4, 1906.

Application filed November 28, 1905. Serial No. 289,521.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES A. FOX and FREDERICK L. WEBB, Jr., ofSyracuse, 1n the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Extinguishers, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in fire-extinguishers inwhich a receptacle confining the fire-extinguisher elements is pivotallysuspended upon a swinging hanger and is normally held in aslightlytilted position by a fusible detent, which when fused by theheat of a local fire swings automatically to an inverted position andsimultaneously releases its swinging hanger, so that the momentum of thereleased receptacle causes said receptacle and its hanger to swing backand forth upon their respective axes through a considerable arc, duringwhich the contents of the receptacle are liberated and discharged underpressure through suitable spray-nozzles over a suitable floor area, aswell as against the ceiling and throughout the intervening space withinthe range of the swinging receptacle and force of ejection of thefire-extinguishing fluid.

The essential object, therefore, of our invention is to normally suspendthe receptacle in such manner that when released it will beautomatically swung through a wide arc to cover and cause the receptacleto continually oscillate during such movement for the purpose ofthrowing the fire-extinguishing fluid in all directions through asuitable space.

A further object is to confine one or more of the fire-extinguishingelements, as acid, in a separate compartment within the receptaclecontaining a fire-extinguisher liquid, as a soda solution, and toprovide the compartment with a stopper which is opened automatically bya weight member within the receptacle when the latter is inverted.

Other objects and uses relating to the specific manner of retaining andreleasing the swinging hanger and receptacle and also to the means forelfecting the opening of the closed compartment in the receptacle willbe brought out in the following description:

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a fire-extinguishingapparatus embodying the various features of our invention, the dottedlines showing the different positions which the apparatus takes inaction. Fig. 2

is a longitudinal sectional view, partly in elevation, of a swingingreceptacle and interior mechanism, showing also a portion of the hangerupon which the receptacle is mounted. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailsectional view of a portion of the receptacle, showing particularly oneof the discharge-pipes. Fig. 4 is a top plan of a portion of the hangerseen in Fig. 1, showing the mechanism for controlling its action. Fig. 5is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified means ofsuspending the hanger and receptacle against the action of their owngravity. Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken, respectively, on lines6 6 and 7 7, Fig. 5.

In order to clearly demonstrate the practicability of our invention, wehave shown a comparatively long swinging hanger 1, pivotally hung at itsupper end, as 2, to the ceiling, as 3, of the arm or building, theopposite or lower end of said hanger being bifurcated and provided withopen-sided bearings 4 for receiving trunnions 5 on opposite sides of atiltable receptacle 6.

The hanger 1 is normally held upnear a horizontal position, as seen inFig. 1, by a suitable detent, consisting in this instance of a bail orwire-loop 7, having its ends attached at 8 to the intermediate portionof the hanger 1 and its central portion detachably hooked into anopen-sided slot 9 of a rotary element, as a gear 10.

A lever-detent 1 1 is fulcrumed on the pivot 8 of the swinging hanger 1and has one end provided with a tooth or shoulder 12, engaged with arocking tooth member 13, which in turn is secured to the rock-shaft 14,carrying a comparatively small pinion 15, which meshes with a gear 10,said gears and segments being mounted on suitable brackets 16, which aresuspended from the ceiling 3, or any other available support. Theopposite end of the lever 11 is comparatively long and projects into thepath of the eccentric lug 17 on one of the trunnions 5 of the receptacle6, so that when said receptacle is released by the fusing of its detent,presently described, it will rock in the direction indicated by thearrow 90, thereby rocking the lug 17 in the same direction against theadjacent end of the lever 1 1, whereby the opposite end of said lever,having a shoulder 12, will be automatic ally withdrawn from holdingengagement with the teeth of the segment 13, thus releasing said segmentand forming the weighted end of the hanger 1 to draw the bail 7downwardly, thereby rotating the gears 9 and 15 and segment 13 until theholding end of the bail 7 draws out of the open-sided slot 9, whereuponthe free end of the hanger 1, carrying the receptacle 6, is carried byits own momentum through a comparatively wide arc of nearly one hundredand eighty degrees, and at the same time the receptacle is free tooscillate back and forth upon its trunnions 5, during the swingingaction of the hanger, as will be more fully described in the operationof the invention.

An additional detent or bail 18 of fusible material, as softsolder-wire, is attached at 8 to the hanger 1, and its intermediateportion is looped around the upper end of the receptacle 6 some distanceabove its trunnions 5, the fusible detent 18being of sufficient lengthto hold the receptacle in a slightly-tilted position at one side of avertical line drawn through its swinging axis or trunnions 5, whichlatter are located some distance below the center or near the bottom ofthe receptacle, so that when the fuse-wire 18 is disintegrated the upperend of the receptacle will readily swing to an inverted position, asshown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The normal upper end of the receptacle 6 is provided with aninlet-opening 19 for the reception of the fire-extinguishing materialand is normally closed by a screw-cap 20, as best seen in Fig. 2. Thisreceptacle 6 is preferably cylindrical in form and adapted to contain afire-extinguishing element, as soda solution or liquid 2, and suitableacid, as 22, which is confined in a normally closed compartment, as abottle 23, having an outlet in one end provided with a stopper 24.

When the receptacle is in its normal upright position (seen in Fig. 1)the stopper 24 is closed, thereby confining the acid therein separatefrom the soda solution, but is so arranged and connected that when thereceptacle is tilted or inverted the stopper is automatically opened toallow the acid to commingle with the soda solution for the purpose offorming a gas and creating a pressure sufficient to forcibly eject theliquid from the receptacle through one or more pipes 25, leading fromthe interior to the exterior of the receptacle, said pipes beingpreferably located near the normal top or upper end of the receptacle,as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3. In order that this automatic opening ofthe stopper 24 may be easily and positively effected, we provide alengthwise rod or guide 26, which in this instance is located centrallywithin and secured to the opposite ends of the receptacle and uponwhich'is mounted a sliding weight 27, as best seen in Fig. 2, saidweight normally resting upon the spring-buffer 28 near the bottom of thereceptacle and is adapted to slide along the guide 26 toward theopposite end when the receptacle is inverted.

Secured to the rod or guide 26 are suitable bottle-supports 29 and 30,the support 29 being preferably cup shape to receive the normal lowerend of the bottle 23, while the other support 30 is preferably made inthe form of a spring-clasp to grasp the neck of the bottle and hold itin place, thereby forming a bottle to be readily placed in operativeposition or removed when desired.

' A lengthwise plunger-rod 31 is guided in suitable apertures in thesupports 29 and 30, preferably between the bottle 23 and rod 26, as whennaturally disposed in the path of the weight 27, While its other end isattached to the stopper 24 in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

It is now obvious that when the receptacle 6 is inverted from itsnormalposition (seen in Fig. 1 to the position seen in Fig. 2 the weight27 will automatically descend with suflicient force to engage and movethe plunger 31 endwise, thereby positively opening the stopper 24 topermit the exit of the contents of the bottle 23 into the receptacle 6to commingle with the soda solution.

In the installation of our improved fire extinguishers the hanger 1 issuspended at one end from the ceiling of the building in the mannerdescribed, and its free end, bearing the filled receptacle 6, is thenelevated to nearly a horizontal position suflicient to hook the bail 7in the slot 9 of the gear 10, whereupon the receptacle 6 isbrought tonearly a vertical position, but slightly inclined downwardly therefrom,and is fastened in its position by the fusible detent 18, care beingtaken to engage the detent 12 with one of the teeth of the segment 13,which latter being of comparatively long radius as compared with thepinion 15 and gear 10, so as to reduce the strain and resistance uponthe lever 11 to a minimum. When the receptacle 6 is supported in thisposition, the weight 27 is normally seated on the buffer 28, near thebottom, and the stopper 24, which is usually made of metal,automatically closes the mouth of the bottle 23. In case of fireproducing sufficient heat to fuse the detent 18 the receptacle 6 is atonce released and rocks to an inverted position, thereby forcing the camor eccentric arm 17 into lifting engagement with the adjacent end of thelever 11, thereby rocking said lever and disengaging its shoulder 12from holding engagement with the segments 13. This re leases the gear 10and allows the weighthanger 1, carrying the receptacle 6, to swingdownwardly, thereby drawing the bail 7 out of the slot 9 and free fromthe gear 10. It is now clear that the momentum acquired by the suddeninversion of the receptacle, together with its own gravity, actinguponthe hanger, not only causing the hanger and receptacle to swing bodilythrough a consider able arc, but the receptacle itself continues itsoscillatory movement back and forth upon its own axis, and this effect,together with the gas-pressure within the receptacle, causes the liquidto be expelled therefrom with considerable force through thedischarge-pipes 25 and over a large floor and ceiling area, as well asthrough the intervening space, thus materially increasing the effectiverange ofaction of the fire-extinguisher. As soon as the receptacle 6 isbrought to an inverted position the weight 27 descends by its owngravity with considerable force against the plunger 31, therebyreleasing the stopper 24., allowing the contents of the bottle 23 todischarge into and commingle with the contents of the receptacle 6 forproducing the desired gas-pressure, said weight being limited in itsmovement by the stop-shoulder 32 on the rod 26, and the plunger 31 andstopper 24 are similarly limited in their movement by a shoulder 33 onthe normal lower end of the plunger 31, which shoulder engages thenormal lower face of the bottle-sup port 29 to prevent the entirewithdrawal of the stopper 24, so that when the receptacle is againbrought to its normal position the stopper 24 will readily seat itselfin the mouth of the bottle 23.

The pipes 25 preferably project through and are secured to oppositesides of the receptacle 6, the inner ends of the pipes being capped bysuitable screens 34 to prevent the pipes from being clogged with solidmaterial, and the outer ends of said pipes are provided with suitablespray-nozzles 35, having transverse slides at right angles to eachother, so as to be able to discharge the contents of the receptacle inall directions.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 we have shown a modified means for supporting thehanger and receptacle in their normal up positions against their owngravity, such means consisting, essentially, of a swinging hanger 1,having one end pivoted at 2 to a suitable bracket or fnxed support uponthe ceiling 3, and its other end is provided with an open-sided bearing4 for receiving the trunnions, as 5, of a receptacle 6, which latter issubstantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The hanger 1is held in an up position or near a horizontal plane against the actionof its own gravity and that of the receptacle 6 by a suitable detent orlink 7, having one end pivoted to the hanger 1 and its other end engagedwith a movable catch 10. This catch 10 is preferably made in the form ofa bell-crank lever pivoted between fixed supporting-arms a, dependingfrom the ceiling 3, one of said arms a, being deflected laterally, asbest seen in Fig. 6, for receiving a pivoted detent b, movable into andout of the path of one arm of the catch 10 to hold said catch inoperative connection with the detent or link 7. The free end of thedetent b is connected by a link 0 to an operating-lever d, which lat teris pivoted at e to a fixed support f and is provided with adownwardly-curved extension (Z, projecting into the path of the bottomor lower portion of the receptacle 6, so that when the receptacle isreleased by the fusing of its detent, as g, the inner lower end of thereceptacle 6 swings upwardly upon its bearings 4 and engages the freeend of the extension d of the lever d, thereby depressing the free endof the detent I) out of holding engagement with the adjacent arm of thecatch 10. It is now obvious that the receptacle 6 ,which is normallysupported in a tilted position against the action of its own gravity bythe fusible detent g, is first released by the fusing of the detent gandswings upon its axis 5 to an inverted position, during which operationthe lower end of the receptacle engages and operates the lever (Z torelease the catch 10, which trips the detent 7 and allows the hanger 1,with the oscillating receptacle 6 thereon, to swing through an arc ofsubstantially one hundred and eighty degrees, while the receptaclevibrates continuously back and forth in its bearing 4 during theswinging of the hanger, thus distributing the fire-extinguishing fluidover a wide area of floor and ceiling space, as well as through theintervening space.

I/Vhat we claim is- 1. In a fire-extinguisher, a fixed support, a hangerpivoted to the support, a receptacle for the fire extinguishing fluidpivotally mounted upon the hanger, means including a detent for holdingthe hanger in its up position, a fusible detent holding the receptacleinclined from a vertical position, whereby the receptacle willautomatically invert itself by the fusing of the fusible detent andmeans brought into action by the inversion of the receptacle fortripping the first-named detent.

2. In a fire-extinguisher, a hanger-support and a swinging hangermounted thereon, a swinging receptacle mounted on the free end of thehanger and confining the fire-extinguishing fluid and means for holdingthe free end of the hanger in an elevated position against its owngravity and that ofthe receptacle.

3. In a fireextinguisher, a support, a swinging hanger pivoted to thesupport, a swinging receptacle rotatingly mounted 011 the free end ofthe hanger, and containing the fire-extingusihing fluid, said receptaclebeing rovided with a discharge-opening normally above its swinging axis,a fusible detent holding the receptacle in a verticallyinclinedposition, means including a detent for holding the hanger in an elevatedposi tion against its own gravity and that of the receptacle andadditional means brought into action by the swinging movement of thereceptacle, when the fusible detent is broken, for tripping thelast-named detent.

4:. In a fire-extinguisher, a support, a

' hanger pivoted to the support, a receptacle pivoted at one side of itsnormal center of gravity upon the hanger and containing there-eXtinguishing fluld, means including a fusible detent, holding thereceptacle in a vertically-inclined position, whereby when the fusibledetent, is disintegrated, the receptacle will automatically invertitself by its own gravity, a discharge-nozzle on the receptacle normallyabove its swinging axis and means for holding the hanger in an elevatedposition against its own gravity and that of the receptacle.

5. In a fire-extinguisher, a swinging hanger and a swinging receptaclepivotally mounted thereon, containing the fire-eXtinguishing fluid, afusible detent normally holding the receptacle in a vertically-inclinedposition against the action of its oWn gravity, a gear-train, a bailconnecting one of the gears of the train, and a hanger to hold thelatter against the action of its own gravity and that of the receptacle,a detent engaged With one of the other gears of the train, and means onthe receptacle brought into action by its inversion for tripping thedetent. v

6. In a fireextinguisher, a support, a hanger pivoted at one end of thesupport and provided With open-sided bearings in its 30 other end, areceptacle provided with trunnions seated in said bearings Wherein' thereceptacle may rotate, means including a detent for holding the hangerin an elevated position against the action of its own gravity 35 andthat of the rece tacle, additional means including a fusible etent forholding the receptacle in a vertically-inclined position, and furthermeans on the receptacle for tripping the first-named detent When thereceptacle 40 CHARLES A. FOX. FREDERICK L. WEBB, JR.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, MILDRED M. No'r'r.

